JPH0287043A - Measuring apparatus for deformability of red blood cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable measurement of the deformability of a red blood cell and the number of red blood cells without using a filter, by generating a root depth signal of a red blood cell detection signal and by obtaining a statistic of the intensity distribution of the root depth signal by a deformability calculating means. CONSTITUTION:In a particle detecting means 1, a pair of electrodes 9 and 10 are divided by an insulator 7 having a minute hole 6 through which a diluted solution 5 of blood passes. A voltage is impressed between the electrodes 9 and 10 and a red blood cell detection signal appearing every time when a red blood cell passes through the minute hole 6 is outputted. A root depth signal showing a difference between a peak value of the first peak of a root waveform signal having a root, out of red blood cell detection signals, and a peak value of the root, is generated by a root depth signal generating means 2, and a statistic of the intensity distribution of the root depth signal is calculated by a deformation power calculating means 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a red blood cell deformability measuring device that measures the ability of red blood cells to transform into various states, that is, the deformability of red blood cells.

[Conventional technology]

Red blood cells normally have a diameter of about 8 microns, but red blood cells can freely pass through capillaries with a diameter of less than several microns because they have deformability. Furthermore, the red blood cell deformability measuring device can be useful for diagnosing microcirculatory disorders and the like.

BACKGROUND ART Filter filtration devices, high-slip stress deformation devices, and the like have been known as devices for measuring the deformability of red blood cells, and there are various devices among them.

However, these measurements require time and effort, and if we focus on a single red blood cell, we cannot obtain the average value for the whole red blood cell, whereas if we focus on the whole red blood cell, we cannot obtain information about each red blood cell. There were problems such as not being able to obtain any results.

In response to this, the present applicant has proposed an invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 58-83231, in which a blood diluent is passed through a pore and red blood cells are detected based on the electrical difference between the red blood cells and the blood diluted fluid. A means, that is, a pair of electrodes is partitioned by an insulator having pores through which a blood diluent passes, and a voltage is applied between the electrodes to detect a red blood cell detection signal appearing between the electrodes each time a red blood cell passes through the pores. Using the output particle detection means, a so-called automatic blood cell counter, the blood diluted liquid is passed through a filter having many pores with a diameter of about 3 μm, and then passed through the pores to accurately measure the deformability of red blood cells. We have provided a device for measuring red blood cell deformability.

This red blood cell deformability measuring device detects red blood cells one by one, and the height of the detection pulse is proportional to the size of the red blood cell, so the state of the red blood cells can be monitored by looking at the size of the detection pulse. It is easy to measure, and the average deformability of red blood cells in blood can be obtained.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, since this red blood cell deformability measurement device requires a filter to be placed in front of the pores, it is not possible to use a conventional automatic hematology counter as a particle detection means as is, and requires a change in structure. did.

In addition, because it can only count the red blood cells that have passed through the filter and cannot count the number of red blood cells in the blood dilution solution, the original function of an automatic blood cell counter is lost and a separate device for calculating the number of red blood cells is required. Ta.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a red blood cell deformability measuring device that can measure the deformability of red blood cells without using a filter and can simultaneously determine the number of red blood cells.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the red blood cell deformability measuring device of the present invention, a pair of electrodes are partitioned by an insulator having pores through which a blood diluent passes, and a voltage is applied between the electrodes so that each time the red blood cell passes through the pores, the particle detection means for outputting a red blood cell detection signal that appears between the red blood cell detection signals; and a valley depth that is the difference between the peak value of the first peak of the capacitive type signal having a valley in the red blood cell detection signal and the peak value of the valley. The device includes a valley depth signal generating means for generating a signal, and a deformability calculating means for calculating statistics such as an average value of the intensity distribution of the valley depth signal.

Another red blood cell deformability measuring device of the present invention partitions a pair of electrodes with an insulator having pores through which a blood diluent passes, and applies a voltage between the electrodes so that each time the red blood cells pass through the pores, a voltage is applied between the electrodes. particle detection means for outputting a red blood cell detection signal appearing between the electrodes; trough height value detection means for detecting a peak value of a valley of a capacitive type signal having a valley in the red blood cell detection signal; trough peak value maximum value detection means for detecting the mode of the distribution of trough peak values; single peak peak value detection means for detecting the peak value of a signal with a single peak waveform among the red blood cell detection signals; Single peak peak value mode detecting means for detecting the mode of the distribution of peak values of the single peak waveform; and the mode of the distribution of peak values of the capacitive trough and the single peak waveform. and deformability calculating means for calculating a comparison value such as a ratio of the mode by comparing the mode with the mode of the distribution of peak values.

(Function) The red blood cell deformability measuring device of the present invention has a causal relationship between the magnitude of the deformability of red blood cells and the depth of the trough of the trough waveform signal of the red blood cell detection signal of the particle detection means. When the signal generation means generates a valley depth signal and the deformability calculation means obtains the statistical value of the intensity distribution of the valley depth signal, this statistical value represents the magnitude of the deformability of red blood cells in the blood dilution solution. That will happen.

Therefore, the deformability of red blood cells can be measured without using conventional filters, and the number of red blood cells can be determined simultaneously.

Another red blood cell deformability measuring device of the present invention is characterized in that the magnitude of deformability of red blood cells, the mode of the peak value of the trough of the signal of the valley waveform of the red blood cell detection signal, and the mode of the peak value of the signal of the single peak waveform are determined. Since there is a causal relationship between the degree of discrepancy between When a comparison value is obtained by the deformability calculation means from the mode of the peak value of the single peak waveform obtained by the high value detection means and the single peak peak value mode detection means, this comparison value is Therefore, the deformability of red blood cells can be measured without using conventional filters, and the number of red blood cells can be determined at the same time.

(Example) A first example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 9. In other words, this red blood cell deformability measuring device:
It has a particle detection means 1, a valley depth signal generation means 2, and a deformability calculation means 3.

The particle detection means 1, as shown in FIG.
A pair of electrodes 9 are formed by an insulator 7 having pores 6 through which
．． A voltage is applied between the electrodes 910 and a red blood cell detection signal appearing between the electrodes 9 and 10 is output each time a red blood cell passes through the pore 6. In Figure 2,
The insulator 7 is an example of a detector immersed in a container 8,
Liquid control device 1 sucking blood diluent 5 through pore 6
1 is installed on the detector. A detection circuit 12 generates a pulse-like signal proportional to the size of the red blood cells based on the difference in electrical impedance between the red blood cells and the blood diluent 5 each time the red blood cells pass through the pores 6.

Details of the red blood cell detection signal obtained by this particle detection means 1 will be explained with reference to FIG. That is, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the vicinity of the pore 6 in an enlarged manner, and the electrodes 9 and 10 are connected so that the current flows only through the pore 6 of the insulator 7 between the electrodes 9 and 10 in FIG. voltage is applied to.

The waveform of the red blood cell detection signal is as shown in FIG.
It becomes like ~2′. However, the diagram shows the passage of red blood cells in an overlapping manner, and in reality, the red blood cell concentration in the suspension is adjusted to such an extent that each state occurs separately.

In FIG. 4, waveform A' is for passage path A in which red blood cell particles 16 pass very close to the wall surface of pore 6, with sharp peaks at the entrance and exit of pore 6. , and there is a gentle valley between the two peaks.

A signal having a shape like this waveform A' will hereinafter be referred to as a valley waveform signal.

The corrugated opening' is a case of a passageway opening in which two particles 16 pass close to each other near the center of the pore 6, and there is a deep valley between the two peaks.

The waveform C' indicates that the particle 16 passes through the exact center of the pore 6.
It shows a clear symmetrical waveform with one peak.

A signal having a shape like this waveform C' will hereinafter be referred to as a signal with a single peak waveform.

Waveform 2' is for passage route 2, in which the pore passes diagonally near the wall surface of the pore 6 at the entrance and near the center at the exit, and shows a sharp peak only near the entrance.

The reason why the waveform exhibits a sharp peak when the particle 16 passes near the wall surfaces of the entrance and exit of the pore 6 is that the current density is high in this vicinity (the so-called edge portion of the pore 6). Furthermore, the waveform width is longer when the particles 16 pass near the wall of the pore 6 than when they pass through the center of the pore 6, because the flow velocity is slower near the wall and the particle 16 passes through the center. This is because it takes more time for the particles 16 to pass than when the particles 16 do.

Note that this particle detection means 1 uses a so-called "
This is different from the device that created "Sheath Flow". Furthermore, even if particles 16 of the same size pass through the pores 6, the wave height value of the peak of the waveform will differ depending on the difference in the passage route, but when the length of the pore is longer than its diameter, Since the peak value at the center of the particle detection waveform has the property of being exactly proportional to the volume of the particle, regardless of the particle passage path, for a signal with a single peak waveform, the peak peak value is detected and the trough is detected. For a waveform signal, by detecting the wave height value of the valley part, it is possible to obtain a red blood cell detection signal whose size is proportional to the volume of the particle (for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6
No. 0-257342, Japanese Patent Application No. 137299/1982).

Next, the valley depth signal generating means 2 will be explained. That is, this valley depth signal generating means 2 generates a valley depth signal which is the difference between the peak value of the first peak of the signal of the valley waveform having valleys in the red blood cell detection signal and the peak value of the valley. It is something. As shown in FIG. 5, when a red blood cell detection signal is inputted to the first peak hold means 17, a first peak hold value M2, which is the first peak of the signal M1 having a trough waveform, for example, is obtained. Next, the first difference signal generating means 1
8, the first peak hold value M2 and the valley waveform signal M
A first difference signal M4, which is the difference from the N1 difference signal M4, is obtained, and a second peak hold value M5, which is the first peak of the N1 difference signal M4, is obtained by the second peak hold means 19, which is the trough. becomes the depth signal. These more specific circuits share a part of the structure of the invention (Japanese Patent Application No. 62137299) which obtains a wave height value that is exactly proportional to the volume of particles.

By the way, when we measured samples of diluted red blood cells and investigated the frequency of single peak waveform signals and signals with trough waveforms, we found that the diluted red blood cell samples of healthy individuals and the identified red blood cells that had been subjected to the fixation process were Although there are some differences between the two samples, the frequency of occurrence of valley waveform signals was in the range of 10% to 20% in all cases.

However, when the shape of the valley waveform signal was observed in detail using an oscilloscope, it was found that there was a clear difference between the diluted red blood cell sample and the fixed red blood cell sample from healthy individuals. 6th
9 through 9 each show the waveform of a red blood cell detection signal observed with an oscilloscope. Figure 6 shows a signal 20 that is a typical example of a signal with a single peak waveform observed when measuring a diluted red blood cell sample of a healthy person, and Figure 7 shows a typical example of a signal with a trough waveform. signal 21
This shows that. Further, FIG. 8 shows a signal 22 which is a typical example of a signal with a single peak waveform observed when a sample of fixed red blood cells was measured, and FIG. 9 shows a signal 23 which is a typical example of a signal with a trough waveform. This shows that. Among these signals, in the case of a trough waveform signal, the shape of the trough waveform signal changes variously depending on the passage path of the particle 16 in the pore 6, but in the case of red blood cells of a healthy person, most of the trough waveforms are It had two peaks with a clear valley depth N1 as shown in Figure 7. On the other hand, in the case of fixed red blood cell samples, the valley waveforms were mostly such that the valley depth N2 was small and the first peak was not clear, as shown in FIG. However, as for the single peak waveform signal, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, there is no characteristic difference between the two waveforms.

As is well known, healthy red blood cells have a large deformability, while fixed red blood cells have almost no deformability.

Therefore, when the red blood cells pass through the pores 6, they are subjected to a large abrasion stress, so the red blood cells of a healthy person are greatly deformed, but the fixed red blood cells should hardly be deformed.

Therefore, although the detailed mechanism is unknown, the above phenomenon is caused by the waveform (i.e., trough waveform) of the red blood cell detection signal when the red blood cell passes near the edge of the pore 6, that is, the location where the electric field strength is highest. This can be considered to be due to the difference in the deformability of red blood cells.

As a result, by detecting the difference between the height of the first peak of the trough waveform (wave height value) and the height of the trough portion (wave height value), that is, the depth of the trough, it is possible to compare the deformability of red blood cells. You can know the deformability.

Note that the valley depth signal generating means 2 holds the first peak value of the valley waveform signal by a well-known peak hold means,
Similarly, a circuit configuration may be employed in which the peak value of the valley portion of the valley waveform signal is held by a well-known sample and hold means, and the latter hold value is subtracted from the former hold value.

Next, the deformability calculating means 3 will be explained.

That is, the deformability calculation means 3 calculates statistics such as the average value of the intensity distribution of the valley depth signal. In this embodiment, the valley depth signal M5 in FIG.
After the conversion, statistics regarding the intensity distribution of the valley depth signal M5 are calculated. Examples of statistics include the average value and mode of the intensity distribution.

Note that even if the valley depth signals are obtained from red blood cells in the same diluted red blood cell sample, the magnitude of each valley depth signal M5 depends on the size of the red blood cells and the passage of the red blood cells in the pore 6. It varies depending on the route. However, for example, when the average value of the intensity distribution of the valley depth signal is calculated, the average value indicates the average value of the deformability of the red blood cells in the diluted red blood cell sample.

Furthermore, the deformability calculation means 3 may convert the statistical amount into a numerical value that directly represents the deformability. For example, a calibration curve between the statistics obtained by the present invention and the deformability obtained from the conventional example is obtained and stored in the deformability calculating means 3, and the deformability is calculated and output according to the calibration curve. do.

Note that, since there is currently no standard method for expressing the deformability of red blood cells, the statistics in this invention may be directly output as the deformability of red blood cells.

In addition, since the intensity of the valley depth signal includes some information about the size of red blood cells, the above statistics can be divided by the average volume of red blood cells in the same diluted red blood cell sample to determine the size of red blood cells. It is also effective to avoid being influenced by The average volume of red blood cells can be easily calculated by detecting the peak value in proportion to the number and size of red blood cells.

According to this embodiment, since there is a causal relationship between the deformability of red blood cells and the depth of the valley of the valley waveform signal of the red blood cell detection signal of the particle detection means 1, the valley depth signal generation means 2 When a depth signal is generated and a statistic of the intensity distribution of the valley depth signal is obtained from the deformability calculation means 3, this statistic represents the magnitude of the deformability of red blood cells in the blood dilution solution. Therefore, the deformability of red blood cells can be measured without using conventional filters.

Moreover, since no filter is used, the red blood cell detection signal of the measurement sample can be counted, so the number of red blood cells can be determined at the same time. As a result, the configuration can be much simpler than the conventional case in which a device for measuring the deformability of red blood cells and a device for determining the number of red blood cells are separate devices.

A second embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14. In other words, this red blood cell deformability measuring device:
Particle detection means 1, capacitive high value detection means 27, trough height value mode detection means 28, and single peak wave height value detection means 25
, single peak peak value mode detection means 26 , and deformability calculation means 29 .

The particle detection means 1 is the same as in the first embodiment.

The capacitance high value detection means 27 detects the peak value of the trough of a signal having a trough waveform among the red blood cell detection signals obtained by the particle detection means 1. In the example, as shown in FIG.
When the red blood cell detection signal is input to the peak hold means 17, a first peak hold value M2, which is the first peak, is obtained in the case of a valley waveform signal M1, and the first peak hold value M2 is obtained by the first difference signal generating means 18. Hold value M2 and valley waveform signal M
A first difference signal M4, which is the difference from 1, is obtained, and a second peak hold value, which is the first peak of the first difference signal M4, is obtained by the second peak hold means 19, and the second difference signal M4 is obtained. A second difference signal M6, which is the difference between the first peak hold value M2 and the second peak hold value M5, is obtained by the signal generating means 20, and this second difference signal M6 is a valley waveform signal M.
This is the peak value of the valley M3 of l. The specific circuit configuration of this block is the same as that shown in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 137299/1982, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The trough peak value mode detecting means 28 detects the mode of the intensity distribution of the trough peak values. That is, the peak value input from the capacitive peak value detection means 27 is A/D converted, and then the mode (peak position) of the peak value distribution is determined.

The single peak peak value detection means 25 detects the peak value of a signal having a single peak waveform among the red blood cell detection signals. This peak value can be detected by outputting the first peak hold value M2 of the capacitive high value detection means 27 shown in FIG. 11 by the second difference signal generation means 20 without taking the difference. Of course, it can also be detected using a normal peak hold circuit.

The single peak peak value mode detecting means 26 detects the mode of the distribution of peak values of the single peak waveform.

That is, like the capacity peak value mode detection means 28, after A/D converting the input peak value, the mode (peak position) of the distribution of peak values is determined. Note that 2 shown in Figure 4
A signal with a deep valley between two peaks is not a valley waveform, but two single peak waveforms that overlap closely, so each of the two peaks is treated as a single peak. Extract as the peak value of the waveform signal.

Now, FIGS. 12 to 14 show the distribution curve p of the peak value of a signal with a single peak waveform and the distribution curve q of the peak value of the trough of a signal with a trough waveform due to red blood cells in the same diluted red blood cell sample. The horizontal axis of the figure represents the signal strength,
The vertical axis represents frequency. Of these, FIG. 12 is the result obtained when a sample of diluted red blood cells of a healthy person was measured. In this figure, when the average particle volume (i.e., average signal intensity) of each of the distribution curves p and q is determined, the distribution curve p
It was 92.5fIl (femtoliter) in the distribution curve q, and 92.9fβ in the distribution curve q. From this, it can be seen that there is almost no difference between the two in terms of average particle volume, and therefore, when the length of the aforementioned pore 6 is longer than its diameter, the central wave of the particle detection waveform is independent of the passage path of the particle 16. The property that the high value is exactly proportional to the volume of the particles 16 has been confirmed, and it can be seen that the average red blood cell volume can be determined by combining each distribution of the distribution curves p and q.

On the other hand, when comparing the peak positions of the distribution curves p and q, that is, the mode of the distribution, it is found that the mode of the distribution curve q clearly deviates to the side where the signal is larger. Figure 13 shows the height of the peak of the distribution curve q in Figure 12 as the distribution part &
Although it has been redrawn to match the peak height of '51p, it is now clearer that the peak positions of distribution curves p and q are shifted.

On the other hand, Fig. 14 shows the distribution of the peak value of the single peak waveform signal and the distribution of the peak value of the trough of the trough waveform signal superimposed when measuring a sample of fixed red blood cells. ,
Similarly to Fig. 13, the height of the peak of the distribution curve q is defined as the distribution part w.
It is drawn to match the peak height of Ap. As is clear from this figure, in the case of the fixed red blood cell sample in Figure 14, the peak positions of the distribution curves p and q are almost the same, unlike in the case of the diluted red blood cell sample of a healthy person in Figure 13. There is.

As mentioned above, healthy red blood cells have a large deformability, and fixed red blood cells have almost no deformability.As with the trough depth signal, the detailed mechanism is unknown, but the deformability of red blood cells is It can be considered that the difference between the distribution curves p and q appears as a difference in the degree of deviation of the peak positions of the distribution curves p and q.

The deformability calculation means 29 compares the mode of the distribution of peak values of the valleys of the valley waveform with the mode of the distribution of peak values of the single peak waveform, and calculates a comparison value such as a ratio of the mode values. calculate. When the comparison value is determined by taking the ratio of both modes, the size information of the red blood cells is canceled, so the comparison value is not affected by the size of the red blood cells.

Also, as a comparison value, you can take the difference between both mode values, but since the mode itself includes information about the size of red blood cells, it should be taken into consideration that the comparison value will be affected by the size of red blood cells. There is a need to.

Furthermore, the deformability calculation means 29 may convert the comparison value into a numerical value that directly represents the deformability, similarly to the deformability calculation means 3 of the first embodiment.

Note that the capacitive high value detection means 27 may be configured to directly hold the peak value of the valley portion of the signal of the valley waveform using a well-known sample hold means. Also, single peak peak value detection means 25. If both the capacitive high value detecting means 27 adopt the configuration shown in FIG. 11, the single peak peak value detecting means 25 and the capacitive high value detecting means 27 can be used in common, which is convenient for simplifying the device configuration. It is.

Further, since the single peak peak value most frequent value detection means 26 has the same function as the capacitance maximum value most common value detection means 28, one mode detection means may be used in common.

According to this embodiment, the magnitude of the deformability of red blood cells and the degree of discrepancy between the mode of the trough peak values of the trough waveform of the red blood cell detection signal and the mode of the peak values of the signal of the single peak waveform. Since there is a causal relationship between the peak value of the trough of the trough waveform obtained by the combined peak value detection means 27 and the trough peak value detection means 28, the single peak peak value detection means 25 and the mode of the peak value of the single peak waveform obtained by the single peak peak value mode detection means 26, the deformability calculation means 29 obtains a comparison value. Therefore, the deformability of red blood cells can be measured without using conventional filters, and the number of red blood cells can be determined at the same time.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the red blood cell deformability measuring device of the present invention, since there is a causal relationship between the magnitude of red blood cell deformability and the depth of the valley of the valley waveform signal of the red blood cell detection signal of the particle detection means, the valley depth signal is generated. When a trough depth signal is generated by the means and a statistic of the intensity distribution of the trough depth signal is obtained by the deformability calculation means, this statistic represents the magnitude of the deformability of red blood cells in the blood dilution solution. Become. Therefore, there is an effect that the deformability of red blood cells can be measured without using a conventional filter, and the number of red blood cells can be determined at the same time.

According to another red blood cell deformability measuring device of the present invention, the magnitude of the deformability of red blood cells, the mode of the peak value of the signal trough of the valley waveform of the red blood cell detection signal, and the maximum value of the peak value of the signal of the single peak waveform are determined. Since there is a causal relationship between the degree of discrepancy with the frequency, the mode of the peak value of the trough of the trough waveform obtained from the combined high value detection means and the trough peak value mode detection means and the single When a comparison value is obtained by the deformability calculation means from the mode of the wave height of the single peak waveform obtained by the peak wave height value detection means and the single peak wave height value mode detection means, this comparison value It represents the degree of deformability of red blood cells in a diluted solution, and therefore has the effect that the deformability of red blood cells can be measured without using a conventional filter, and the number of red blood cells can be determined at the same time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a particle detection means, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the process of particles passing through pores, and FIG. Waveform diagrams of various red blood cell detection signals of particles passing through the pores, Figure 5 is a block diagram of the valley depth signal detection means, Figure 6 is the waveform observed with an oscilloscope when measuring a diluted red blood cell sample from a healthy person. FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram showing a typical example of a signal with a single peak waveform, and FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram showing a typical example of a signal with a trough waveform of a healthy person.
Figure 8 is a waveform diagram showing a typical example of a signal with a single peak waveform observed by an oscilloscope when measuring a sample of fixed red blood cells, and Figure 9 shows a typical example of a signal with a trough waveform of a fixed red blood cell sample. The waveform diagram, Figure 10, is the second waveform diagram of this invention.
Fig. 11 is a block diagram of the combined wave peak value detection means, and Fig. 12 shows the distribution of peak values of a signal with a single peak waveform obtained when measuring a diluted red blood cell sample of a healthy person. Figure 13 is a distribution diagram that shows the distribution of peak values of the valley waveform signal overlaid with the peak value distribution of the valley. Figure 13 is a distribution diagram in which the height of the peak of distribution q in Figure 12 is redrawn to match the height of the peak of distribution p. Figure 14 shows the distribution of peak values of single peak waveform signals and the distribution of peak values of valleys of trough waveform signals obtained when measuring fixed red blood cell dilution samples. It is a distribution map. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Particle detection means, 2... Valley depth signal generation means, 3.29... Deformability calculation means, 25... Single peak peak value detection means, 26... Single peak Wave peak value mode detection means, 27... Combined wave peak value detection means, 28... Valley peak value mode detection means (Fig. 1).

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A pair of electrodes is separated by an insulator having pores through which the blood diluent passes, and a voltage is applied between the electrodes to detect a red blood cell detection signal appearing between the electrodes each time a red blood cell passes through the pores. a particle detection means for outputting, and a valley depth signal for generating a valley depth signal that is the difference between the peak value of the first peak of the signal of the valley waveform having valleys in the red blood cell detection signal and the peak value of the valley. A red blood cell deformability measuring device comprising a generating means and a deformability calculating means for calculating a statistic such as an average value of the intensity distribution of the valley depth signal. (2) A pair of electrodes is separated by an insulator having pores through which the blood diluent passes, and a voltage is applied between the electrodes to detect a red blood cell detection signal appearing between the electrodes each time a red blood cell passes through the pores. a particle detection means for outputting, a trough height detection means for detecting a trough height value of a signal having a trough waveform among the red blood cell detection signals; a means for detecting the mode of the trough height value; a single peak value detecting means for detecting the peak value of a signal having a single peak waveform among the red blood cell detection signals; A single peak peak value mode detection means for detecting the mode, and comparing the mode of the distribution of the peak values of the troughs of the trough waveform with the mode of the distribution of the peak values of the single peak waveform. A red blood cell deformability measuring device comprising a deformability calculation means for calculating a comparison value such as a ratio of the mode value.